My Editorial
In case you wanted to check it out, here's my editorial for Feb. 25
We need to take a stand against injustice in the world
Many events have shaped our world, imprinting themselves on the heart of each nation.
History’s acts of terror and violence stay with us always.
Lately, owing to the recent 60th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz, the most notorious of the Nazi death camps, my visit last summer to the Dachau death camp, and to my part-time job experiences, my thoughts have drifted to a subject I do not often wish to explore-genocide.
I work in an office just a few blocks from my high school. When I began my work I was faced with endless lists of names, villages and maps. I found myself spending as much time pouring over the work as I did scratching my head wondering about it.
Who were these people?
Months later, after brief conversations with my boss, I discovered the work I was doing, the information I was photocopying and organizing, had to do with the genocide in Yugoslavia during the Second World War.
No matter how many times I sort through the information or look at the thick lists of names of those whose lives were taken ruthlessly, I am always left in a state of disbelief. I still cannot even begin to understand it.
How can human beings do cruel and awful things to each other? Many offer explanations to compensate for the follies of human behaviour: war, money, greed, hate, fear or superstition. Can genocide really be justified by these elements? Although a devastating reality, no explanation can satisfy me.
While walking through Dachau last summer, I was overwhelmed with sadness in knowing that so many innocent lives were taken.
Bleach-white stones covered the grounds. They glowed in the brightness of the sun and blinded the humbled tourists. There was a haunting atmosphere, as if the sun had dried up any remaining signs of life that remained, only to leave behind a lingering memory of the horror and grief that had taken place. Most of all, I remember the sleeping quarters, where names and words were carved into the hard wooden bunks. It was a monument that these were thinking, feeling and living people, whose lives were taken in such a violent and shocking manner for no justifiable reason.
It astounds me how much damage humans are capable of committing. One man, Adolph Hitler, was able to exterminate a massive portion of a race. His malicious, horrifying actions remain a deep scar in the history of our world and a frightening monument of human power and capability.
Another factor, ignorance, plays a crucial role. Without it Hitler’s plans would have never taken place. Other countries ignored the sufferings in Germany, with the same excuses of hate, fear and superstition. An anti-Semitic attitude had swept over the world, and people were more eager to turn their heads the other way than to lend a hand.
What we often fail to see is that the people in our world are inevitably connected. We cannot ignore the sufferings of another country because we are divided by race, geography, nationality or religion. For too long, our world has been torn by irrational hate and fear; too many have suffered needlessly, too many have waged war without just intentions.
It is obvious to me that there will never be world peace. I know this when I see child labour, total warfare, terrorist attacks and most frightening, genocide. We will never have a perfect world.
However, we should aim for perfection, and likewise, we should aim for world peace.
We have already harnessed the power to destroy the entire world, and the threat of mass destruction is all but too familiar. How have we allowed ourselves to come to these ends? Why are humans capable of such inhumane acts?
Realistically, change will not happen overnight. Most of us, including myself at times, feel there is nothing that can be done to eliminate the injustices of our world. This is not true. Gandhi once said, “You need to be the change you wish to see in the world.” Change is more than just saying our prayers and being thankful for what we have, it is taking action against the injustice in our world.
Each step we take towards justice, no matter how small, is one step closer to peace.
We need to take a stand against injustice in the world
Many events have shaped our world, imprinting themselves on the heart of each nation.
History’s acts of terror and violence stay with us always.
Lately, owing to the recent 60th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz, the most notorious of the Nazi death camps, my visit last summer to the Dachau death camp, and to my part-time job experiences, my thoughts have drifted to a subject I do not often wish to explore-genocide.
I work in an office just a few blocks from my high school. When I began my work I was faced with endless lists of names, villages and maps. I found myself spending as much time pouring over the work as I did scratching my head wondering about it.
Who were these people?
Months later, after brief conversations with my boss, I discovered the work I was doing, the information I was photocopying and organizing, had to do with the genocide in Yugoslavia during the Second World War.
No matter how many times I sort through the information or look at the thick lists of names of those whose lives were taken ruthlessly, I am always left in a state of disbelief. I still cannot even begin to understand it.
How can human beings do cruel and awful things to each other? Many offer explanations to compensate for the follies of human behaviour: war, money, greed, hate, fear or superstition. Can genocide really be justified by these elements? Although a devastating reality, no explanation can satisfy me.
While walking through Dachau last summer, I was overwhelmed with sadness in knowing that so many innocent lives were taken.
Bleach-white stones covered the grounds. They glowed in the brightness of the sun and blinded the humbled tourists. There was a haunting atmosphere, as if the sun had dried up any remaining signs of life that remained, only to leave behind a lingering memory of the horror and grief that had taken place. Most of all, I remember the sleeping quarters, where names and words were carved into the hard wooden bunks. It was a monument that these were thinking, feeling and living people, whose lives were taken in such a violent and shocking manner for no justifiable reason.
It astounds me how much damage humans are capable of committing. One man, Adolph Hitler, was able to exterminate a massive portion of a race. His malicious, horrifying actions remain a deep scar in the history of our world and a frightening monument of human power and capability.
Another factor, ignorance, plays a crucial role. Without it Hitler’s plans would have never taken place. Other countries ignored the sufferings in Germany, with the same excuses of hate, fear and superstition. An anti-Semitic attitude had swept over the world, and people were more eager to turn their heads the other way than to lend a hand.
What we often fail to see is that the people in our world are inevitably connected. We cannot ignore the sufferings of another country because we are divided by race, geography, nationality or religion. For too long, our world has been torn by irrational hate and fear; too many have suffered needlessly, too many have waged war without just intentions.
It is obvious to me that there will never be world peace. I know this when I see child labour, total warfare, terrorist attacks and most frightening, genocide. We will never have a perfect world.
However, we should aim for perfection, and likewise, we should aim for world peace.
We have already harnessed the power to destroy the entire world, and the threat of mass destruction is all but too familiar. How have we allowed ourselves to come to these ends? Why are humans capable of such inhumane acts?
Realistically, change will not happen overnight. Most of us, including myself at times, feel there is nothing that can be done to eliminate the injustices of our world. This is not true. Gandhi once said, “You need to be the change you wish to see in the world.” Change is more than just saying our prayers and being thankful for what we have, it is taking action against the injustice in our world.
Each step we take towards justice, no matter how small, is one step closer to peace.